He does it every day so that he can make it to the school, a two hour's of walk from his home, on time.This is a common problem faced by over a hundred children from ward 8 and 9 of this village as there is no secondary school nearby.
The students are compelled to spend four hours just to commute back and forth between home and school.
This daily hardship alone forces many students to drop out before completing their lower secondary education.
"Girls are more likely to discontinue their studies after eighth grade as their families don't want them to spend so much time outside their homes," said a local teacher Tilak Bhandari.
A tenth-grader Gomati Rawal is preparing to appear in the SLC exams this session. But the lengthy walk not only takes up a lot of time but also saps all her energy she needs to study at home after school, she complained.
Rita Bhatta of grade nine remains absent from her school during rainy season.
The river the children of Kalaipal village cross to go to the school is flooded during monsoon, making their guardians wary of sending their children to school, locals say.
"The government is indifferent to our plights. It has neither set up a secondary school in our area nor built a bridge over the river that our children need to cross to reach the village where there is one," Rita said.
To reach the two nearest secondary schools--Siddheshwar Higher Secondary School in Patan municipality, Baitadi, and Ghanaghasya Higher Secondary school in Samaiji, Dadeldhura--students from the village have to cross two rivers both of which are bridgeless.
The children from well-to-do families rent rooms close to the school. But families who can't afford accommodation for their wards away from home expressed dissatisfaction over the government's apathy.
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